The Times, They Are A Changin'

           Change.  It’s a scary word that I try and keep locked away in my brain under the section entitled Try Not To Think About It.  But change is inevitable; there’s no point in trying to stop it.  Although I try my hardest not to think about it, change is happening all around me.  Being a 20 year old college student, change is something I have to live with almost every day.  If you haven’t already guessed it, I’m not a big fan of change.

            With the holiday season here, this is where change is put on hold, right?  I mean think about it for a moment.  Family holiday traditions are what postpone change until after the holiday season is over.  Going to visit family, baking cookies, singing holiday songs, and being together are moments that occur every single year, don’t they?  Well, at least in my family they do.  During the holiday season, I am most happy, most thankful, and most excited about family traditions that I have participated in since I was a little girl. So why all of the sudden do I feel like the Grinch, and have been singing the holiday blues?  Is it because I’m fighting change??

            As I am growing up, I am suddenly realizing that change is coming at a much faster pace than I anticipated.  I am suddenly aware that in a year from now, I will be a senior in college getting ready to graduate.  I am also aware that my younger brother will also be a senior (a senior in high school, that is) getting ready to graduate as well.  What?!  Did I really just say that?  It seems like just yesterday that my parents were bringing him home from the hospital.  When did that change occur? 

            Each year as I grow older, I find something in my life that has changed.  Whether it be a significant change or a minor change, there is always something changing in my life.  We just celebrated Thanksgiving not too long ago.  Maybe that’s where my uncertainty and Grinch-like thoughts have developed from.  We usually have Thanksgiving dinner at my house each year.  This year, we celebrated at my grandparents.  What’s so wrong with that?  Okay, so we switched it up a little bit this year.  No big deal, right?  Right?  During Thanksgiving break is also the first time our family allows Christmas movies to be watched.  Unfortunately, we were not able to watch a Christmas movie that week.  So what, who cares, no big deal, right?

            On Christmas Eve leading up to Christmas Day, our most valuable traditions take place.  Each year, we celebrate on Christmas Eve with my mom’s side of the family at my grandparent’s house.  The whole family gets dressed up real nice, looking our best, and enjoying each other’s company while opening presents leading up to dinner.  After dinner, we part ways and spend time with our other sides of the family.  This year, with all of us grandchildren getting older and being involved in more and more activities, we might have to switch around a few things.  Although the day might be a little different than previous years, I’m still excited for a memorable day with my family.  What’s so wrong with a little change?  Can I really be upset about traditions being broken because of us grandchildren growing up and being more involved in activities?   I must be going crazy for even considering a change as little as this to be something that could ruin the holidays.

            Maybe I’m the sole problem in my holiday blues.  Maybe it’s just me and my animated mind that has me going crazy.  No one else around me seems to be worrying about anything, or getting upset over silly traditions that couldn’t take place this year.  Am I really the culprit with my Grinch-like thoughts and holiday blues? 

            So I’m growing up.  Whoopie.  I can only image that life will be throwing curve balls of change my way for the next several years.  I can’t change the world around me anymore than I can change my height (and for those of you who know me know my feelings on being vertically challenged). I can only sit back and enjoy the wonderful gifts that I have been blessed with during this holiday season. There are so many things to be thankful for during this time of year and the things I am most thankful for are as follows: My family and friends, my health, and Canada for giving us Justin Bieber.

Happy Holidays

Bock Blog Post Assignment #10

When reading articles and watching videos on the Al Jazeera English website, I find the information on their site to be mainly directed towards negative aspects of foreign related issues and even issues here in the United States. Most everything I have found on their website is written or spoken in a remotely bias opinion or sense of tone.

For example, there is an article titled "Ukraine raises $788m for Chernobyl dome" found on the front page of the website.  Now the title itself seems like a pretty optimistic title; Ukraine raising a significant amount of money for a dome.  Now, I personally have no idea what this dome is without reading the article. No knowledge of why exactly they need to raise this money for this particular dome. However, reading the amount of money raised in the title, it makes it seem like a good amount of money to build something. Then, I read the first line of the article, and it says, "Donors pledge $780m - less than Ukraine had hoped - towards containment shell at site of world's worst nuclear disaster." As I kept reading, I realized that the article's line "less than Ukraine had hoped" was not as negative as I had thought the article would be. So I continued to read more articles.

After reading two or three more articles, and watching two videos, I realized that maybe my first impression of the front page of the website was a little off. I had thought that since the stories on the front page of the website were all about negative things, and things changing, that the way in which the articles were written were going to be more bias than they actually were.

From the articles I read videos I watched, they were more informative than opinion based. None of the articles I read were bias, they just simply told factual details about current events. The only bias opinion that I came across was the ending line an an article titled "France and Italy to send Libya advisors". The ending line said this, "The rebels have been trying since mid-February to end Gaddafi's 41-year-old rule but have struggled against his more experienced and better equipped forces." The only bias remark would be "but have struggled against his more experienced and better equipped forces."

Freedom Of Speech? Or Gone Too Far?

After reading a recent letter to the editor of the New York Times, I can't help but think if there is a barrier in regards to "going to far" anymore. Of what is and is not appropriate to say and not to say, do people still have the right to say what they are going to say? Is the freedom of speech that we as American's are granted, how far is going too far?

Joshua S. Eisenberg wrote to the editor of the New York Times about the recent burning of the Koran in a Florida church after an article was published in the newspaper. Eisenberg wrote in the perspective of our American soldiers over seas fighting. How would they feel when they come back to this country and see that our own people are disrespecting other religions? "Why must they now also contend with the consequences of the shortsighted, insolent and childish behavior of people sitting comfortably and safely back home?" he says.

Eisenberg also said that he would love to see people such as the pastor in that particular Florida church go out and fight over seas for our country.

I get what Eisenberg is saying and I have to agree with him. I do not think that he went too far with what he said. It was simply his opinion. It was a very loud opinion, and very gutsy and risky to put out there, but I would have done the same.

Now looking at the other side and point of view from the Florida pastor who burned the Koran, was he wrong with showing his beliefs? Is burning the Koran any different from what Joshua S. Eisenberg did by sending in his opinion to the New York Times? Both the pastor of the Florida church and Eisenberg were both expressing the first amendment of this country, which is the freedom to express religion and the freedom of speech.

I, on the other hand, do not agree with what the Florida pastor did. Yes, in this wonderful country we live in, you have the freedom to practice whichever religion you'd like, and you have the freedom of speech. But did this Florida pastor think about the other religion? That they, just like everyone else, have their own beliefs? What the pastor did was incredibly disrespectful in my opinion. After all, it was because of our first amendment that people came to this country.

Better That We Break

            "How did we let it get this bad?" She thought to herself, sitting alone in the crowded library. People were walking, talking, passing by her left and right. She still sat motionless and expressionless. 

*

            "Let's play the name game!" Tess said playfully to everyone. It was their first soccer game of the season. She had never met him before, but she just had to find out his name. Looking at her, he started off the childish game.

            "Haha, alright," He said shaking his head, laughing. "I'm Jason."

            "I'm Jainie!"

            "Mary-Jane."

            The names continued until it was her turn. 

            "I'm Tess."

            Names continued to be said, but she didn't pay attention to any of them. She only wanted to know one name, and she got it. As their eyes met, they smiled at each other and quickly looked away; both still grinning.

*

            Walking to class was going to be unbearable. How could she possibly pay attention in her classes while knowing that her relationship was taking a turn for the worse? She looked at her over sized watch. Ten forty. Time for class.

*

            "Oh my God! Babe! Are you serious right now?!" Jason said laughing. 

            "I'm sorry Jason, but you have it perfectly wrong!" Tess said smirking. "That did NOT happen!"

            "Babe! Yes it did! I did a perfect rainbow on the field and you totally checked me out saying 'whoooaaa'!"

            "That did NOT happen!" Tess snapped back, knowing perfectly well that there was a little bit of truth in his exaggerated story. 

            "I only wanted to prove to you that I could do a better rainbow than you could, but I did NOT stare at you, checking you out!"

            They always argued over the first time they had met.

*

            After realizing how stupid she had been, she started to laugh at herself. How could her bubbly and fun self become a complete opposite of who she was and be someone that she never wanted to be? She had turned herself into an overbearing wretch. She had lost herself somewhere along the way. Maybe it was somewhere between "no regrets" and "I'm miserable". She couldn't wait to leave class and tell Jason how truly sorry she was and how funny she had found this all to be. She would go back to her old self and everything would be good again.

*

            "So Joe texted me today. I'm gonna go out with him tonight with some friends. Is that okay?" 

            "Oh," She paused. "Alright." Tess wondered why Jason wouldn't want to spend the night in with her. 

            "But it's raining out, and it's supposed to snow tonight. Are you sure you really wanna go out tonight?" She said trying to convince him to stay in.

            "Babe, do you not want me to go out tonight? I don't have to," he said solemnly.

            "No, no, go out! Who says you can't go out with your friends? Go, go out tonight." She didn't know why she had gotten so upset at him when he wanted to hang out with his own friends. Why had she gotten so upset? She was never like this. Who had Tess turned into? She was beginning to not know the answer to such a simple question.

*

            "I haven't been myself in a long time," she started off. "How pathetic am I to let myself turn into someone I never wanted to be!"

            He kept listening to her talk while staring at the floor, looking more depressed than ever.  As Tess kept talking, she couldn't help but notice this new side of Jason; a sad side of him.

            The night before, he had told her that he was miserable and that he didn't know what to do.

            This scared Tess more than anything. In her head, she wanted to stay together with him at all costs. She couldn't stand the thought of not having him. But deep down in her heart, she knew they needed a break; time apart from one another.

*

            "I don't understand why you're acting this way. All I know is that I want to help you because I really like where things are going; I like what we have going on here and I want to see where it goes." he said. 

            Tess had come over late that night, confused about what was going on between her and Jason.  They had been seeing each other for a while and had been having an incredibly fun time together.  However, Tess didn't know what they meant to each other and she wanted answers. 

            "I just don't want to get my heart broken again." she said crying.

            "You have to have a little faith in me, Tess. You can't think that I'm gonna be like the last guy who broke your heart." He then paused, grabbed her hand and said, "You have to trust me."

            She looked up at him, scared to put her heart out on the line, but happy to know that she could trust him and confide in him.

            "Okay," she said smiling.

            "No regrets, okay? Promise me this. No regrets."

            "No regrets."

*

            Leaning against her bed, looking down at the floor, Jason looked as unhappy as Tess had ever seen him.

            “I just think this is what we need in order to be happy again,” he said as he handed Tess a plastic bag of her things.

            All she wanted to do was tell him how she was going to change and become her old self again. She wanted to do this for her. Not for him. Not for anyone else. She wanted to get back to her old self for her own good. But she knew there was no way she could convince Jason to give her a chance to show him that. She knew that he needed this time apart much more than she needed it. Because her feelings for him were so strong, she knew she had to do this for him and let him have it his way. As much as it killed her inside, she had to let him go.

The Movie Rating System

Have you ever wondered why a guts and gore movie is sometimes rated lower than a sex scene in a love story movie? I most definitely have thought about this, and it makes no sense to me. 

Going to the movies can be an exciting evening out. Being seated in a dark theater and hearing the surround sound while watching the enormous screen in front of you is a ton of fun. I remember how excited I would get when my parents would take me to the movies when I was younger. Watching the previews was always one of my favorite parts of going, and it still is. Watching the previews gave me a reason to ask my parents to come back to the movie theater to see new movies. My parents always used the movie rating system to judge whether or not it would be appropriate for them to take my brother and I to see certain movies.

Now a days thinking back to the way my mom and dad judged movies, I wonder how a sex scene in a movie can be rated higher than a violence movie. I don't agree with the current movie rating system. I don't agree with it because many PG-13 movies have a tremendous amount of violence, guts, and gore in them. How do you expect a 13 year old to handle a movie like that? Movies, like Saw for example, should be at least rated NC-17 or even R. I believe that 13 year old's are still learning about the world around them are just beginning to develop who they are. How can their minds be well informed and educated about the world around them if they are allowed to see people being blown up and cut open? The answer is to this is simple: they aren't. They aren't being well educated with being allowed to see movies such as these and I personally don't believe that many 13 year old's can distinguish reality from fiction.

On the other hand, movies with love scenes in them are a bit more realistic and should not be rated higher than violent movies. Love scenes in movies are a part of life. I don't have any factual evidence of this, but don't most all people fall in love? And won't most all people have a similar situation as a love scene in a movie happen in their life? I believe so. What I don't believe is that people in their everyday life will see someone's body being torn to shreds or blown up. The movie rating system should most definitely be reevaluated.

Better Late Than Never (Bock Blog Post #6)

In Wayne Friedman's article "Hoop Dreams: NCAA Viewers Up 11%"  he talks about how the current March Madness television viewing has gone up. In recent years depending on where you lived determined what games you could be able to watch. CBS, the on-again, off-again conglomerate with Viacom, is the main network to air the tournament.This is the first year that the tournament could broadcast all of the games at the same time. Compared to only CBS that aired the games on their time schedule, the tournament now aired every single game on the following cable networks: CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV. 


However, because of the games aired on CBS right before prime-time hours, people viewed CBS prime-time shows more than they would normally.

Political Confusion, Part 2

I will never, EVER, understand politics…period.

Back in November during the election, I watched The View almost everyday. And what is the number one topic that is talked about on that show? Yup, you guessed it. Politics. Back in November, the show couldn’t go a day without talking about it. I can’t help thinking back to that month and the election. More specifically, how Pennsylvania elected Tom Corbett the Governor. 

With Governor Corbett putting a 32 percent raise on college tuition and all the other lovely budget cuts he’s proposing, I can’t HELP but be confused!  These budget cuts will be affecting not only the students attending Pennsylvania state universities, but the faculty and staff who make these campuses come to life. 

Didn’t the wonderful people of Pennsylvania elect Corbett the Governor because they thought he would help us?  How is that helping us?  I believe Corbett also said something to the effect that his budget would help the unemployed find jobs.  Riddle me this, how will the unemployed find jobs if Corbett is taking away jobs from the great people who work at our universities?  Seems fishy to me, Governor.

As a fulltime college student, how am I supposed to find the time to read the 1,184 page budget? A budget that could, if passed, affect me and my education in a big way. Governor Corbett was quoted saying, “This budget sorts the must-haves from the nice-to-haves.” What exactly would you consider a must-have, Governor? An education? And what would you consider to be a nice-to-have? A new iPad or a car? Well congratulations Governor, you just brought back my confusion!

Could I be missing something here? Am I at fault for my own political confusion? Is it wrong of me to want politics in simpler terms and want easy answers? I just want to know WHY. WHY is it necessary for Corbett to put a 32 percent raise on college tuition? WHY is Corbett’s budget making my professors worry about their jobs? WHY is this causing chaos throughout my campus? WHY are you putting us through this Governor Corbett?

My political confusion is almost as bad now as it was back in November when former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, said on The View that Sarah Palin is just as qualified to be president as President Obama is.

Um, confusion? I thought that people took Palin as a joke. Someone who is unqualified. Usually when Saturday Night Live does more than five sketches on you, you know you’re a joke. 

I don’t think I will ever be able to understand politics, whether it be understanding politics in my own state of Pennsylvania or elsewhere. The only conclusion I have come up with about politics is this: there will always be people who DON’T agree with the current governor or president in office and there will always be people who DO agree with the current governor or president in office. There will always be people who DON’T agree with ridiculous budget cuts, and there will always be people who DO agree with them. It is a vicious cycle that will keep spinning forever and always.

So just when I think I have politics all figured out, what happens? Political confusion.

OMG, The Oxford English Dictionary has Entered the 21st Century

OMG! Here’s an FYI so you can LOL! The Oxford English Dictionary has officially added these three acronyms (OMG, FYI, & LOL) to their dictionary. Shocking, I know! The 21st century “lingo” has officially entered the same book as words such as astonishment, explanatory, and humorous.

These times, they are a changin!

Orson Welles' War of the Worlds

Recently in my Mass Communications class we listened to Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio show. Now I've heard of the movie with Tom Cruise in it and knew it was based on some old radio show way back when, but I didn't know anything more than that. I didn't know of the effect it had on some people; I didn't know of the misinterpretation. It's incredible to hear about how people mistook the radio show for a real live broadcast.

In our Mass Communication book for class, sociologist W.I. Thomas is quoted about his beliefs on symbolic interactionism. Thomas says, "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." In other words, if people misinterpret something and convince themselves that the occurrence is real, then consequences will come to them. We can look back and see how this happened during Orson Welles' 1938 radio show. Even though there was an announcement before the broadcast started, stating that this was a show and not a real broadcast, people still took it as something that was actually happening.

Besides listening to Abbott and Costello's Who's on First? skit with my family, I had never actually listened to an old radio broadcast from that time period. So as I was listening to War of the Worlds I had to constantly remind myself that this was cutting edge entertainment back then. This type of entertainment is what families would gather around their living room radio for every night. To me, the hardest part about connecting with the people who must have felt that this was real was remembering that I grew up in the 21st century. That I have constantly been around loud explosions in movies all my life, and dramatic plots of how a main character betrayed another character. People back then didn't have this type of "high quality" entertainment.

When we were told that people took this radio show for an actual event taking place, I didn't know what to think. People killing themselves and taking cover because they thought martians were invading earth? No way! But then I started to think back to what W.I. Thomas said; about how people can convince themselves of something completely made up, and believe it to be real. When you see a breaking news story on television, what is it that most reporters say as it is taking place? "Again folks, this just happened; This is taking place as we speak; We are doing the best we can to get you all the info as this event is taking place right in front of our very eyes." Stuff like that right? During the War of the Worlds broadcast, reporters were in the storyline, reporting exactly like this. I think it would have been hard to completely break away from the show and say "Once again folks, this is NOT REAL; This is a radio show; Now back to War of the Worlds." But on the other hand, maybe they could have?

What Baseball Means To Me

I was born into a baseball family. My dad says that when I was two weeks old, he sat me on his lap, and that is when I watched my very first Philadelphia Phillies game. Then came the learning of how to catch and throw a ball. And shortly after that, learning how to swing a bat and hit the ball. When my brother was born, my family taught him just like they had taught me. I guess you could say that baseball is a generational tradition that is passed down in my family. My grandfather taught my mom and uncle about the game when they were younger and they then passed their knowledge down to us kids. My mom was born on June 21st, 1964, the day that Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning threw a perfect game. My mom says that that’s one of the reasons why she loves baseball so much. Every year, my grandfather would tell her the story of how Jim Bunning made baseball history on that day; on Father’s day; on the exact day my mom was born.

I never knew the reason behind why my family was so passionate about the game of baseball, until I began to ask them simple questions like, “What is your earliest baseball memory?” and “Who is your favorite baseball player of all time?” It was funny, and rewarding, to hear all of their different answers because everyone’s answers seemed to be based upon generation. For example, my grandfather said his favorite baseball player was Whitey Ashburn and my brother and cousin both said their favorite player is Jimmy Rollins. When I asked my brother why he had chosen “J-roll” as his favorite baseball player he told me that Jimmy had been a part of the Phillies organization for as long as he could remember. I hadn’t realized that Jimmy had been a part of the Phillies ever since my brother first began to understand the game of baseball. My mom, dad, and uncle chose players such as Tug McGraw, Dave Cash, and Mike Schmitt as their favorites because they are Phillies legends. My grandmother and I on the other hand, chose the players Darren Dalton and John Kruk. We didn’t really choose them because of their skills on the field, but rather, well, let’s just say other reasons. My grandmother had the biggest crush on Darren Dalton and I just loved running around the house screaming “John KRUK, John KRUK!”

When I began to ask all of them what the best memory baseball has given them is or was, they all seemed to say they same thing. Seeing the Phillies win the 2008 World Series. When I asked each of them why that particular moment was so special to them, they all said it was because it was something that we got to experience together as a family. All of us might not have been together physically during that exact moment, but in spirit, and in multiple phone calls, it was something that none of us will ever forget. The men in my family, and me, went to the parade a couple of days after the big win. My grandmother says that this is her favorite memory of baseball; seeing us go down to the city together, all dressed in Phillies red. “Enjoying the game as a family, and seeing how much my family loves the game,” she says. “That’s my best memory of baseball, seeing our love for the game being passed down generation to generation.”

I don’t know why, or how for that matter, my family became as superstitious as we are today. Whether it be the socks we wear to a sports game, or the positions of our seating arrangements for a game we are watching. The fact of the matter is that my family is highly superstitious. During the beginning of the 2008 World Series, my family and I all sat down in our family room, Phillies gear on, drinks by our side, and chips and salsa out on the tray tables in front of us. My mom and our dog sat comfortably on the love seat; my brother and I on the couch. My dad sat at the desk chair. For some reason I could not sit still that night. I’m not sure if it was because I was just anxious to watch the game, or just because I had to sit next to my brother. So I decided to sit on the floor. From that moment on, the Phillies began to take the lead, and ended up winning the game. The next night, my dad made us all sit in our same exact seats and my mom made us all wear the same exact outfits we had worn the previous night. In my family, there are no taking chances of losing while being superstitious. Needless to say, I sat on the floor for the entirety of the 2008 World Series.

I will never forget that exact moment when the Phillies won the World Series. When Brad Lidge pitched the final strike and then threw his glove up high in the air. As that glove was tossed up, my family and I jumped up with it. As the glove came down, it landed on top of the players piling on top of one another; hugging and high fiving. My family and I did the same. My dad and my brother were running around the room as my mom and I were crying in happiness (tears of joy of course, which would be another generational trait passed on in our family. Thanks a lot Pop!). Our team had just won the championship and for the first time in our lives, my brother and I got to experience the feeling of victory. We got to share that victory with not only our immediate family, but our family within the city of Philadelphia. For me, it was a great moment, and beginning to the year to come. It was the fall of my senior year in high school; the final chapter of my high school career. What better way for the hometown baseball team to finish out the season then to win it all by taking the title of World Series Champions.

Phillies baseball isn’t the only type of baseball my family knows. Even the movies I grew up to were baseball related. I can’t tell you the number of times my brother and I asked for our parents to put on “Angels in the Outfield.” As we got older, we were introduced to “The Sandlot” and “A League of Their Own.” And don’t forget “Major League!” There was something special about watching these movies that made us feel an even greater connection to the game we loved. In “The Sandlot,” there is a picture shown at the beginning and end of the movie. The picture is of the boys during the summer in which they beat their town’s snotty little league team. The boys are aligned shoulder to shoulder, gloves in hand, and all wearing their favorite baseball outfits. All of them have bright beaming smiles on their faces. Just like “The Sandlot,” my family has a similar picture. My grandmother took it of us right before we drove down to the city for the parade. All of us are standing together, shoulder to shoulder, wearing our favorite Phillies gear, celebrating our city’s victory and sharing our love for the game of baseball together. So when you ask us whether or not we think our Phillies will win the World Series again, we will always smile and say, “It could happen.”

Radio: Dead or Alive?

Okay people, I have a mighty big question to ask all of you.  I need you to think back to your childhood days.  When you wanted to listen to music, what was the first thing you went for?  Was it your CD player?  Tape cassette player?  Or was it the radio?  The answer to this question will be different for all of you.  Personally for me, it was all three of these things.

Okay, second question.  Today, when you want to listen to music, what is the first thing you turn to?  I won't list options here like I did for the first question, because truthfully, there are just too many ways in which we can access music in this day and age.

Many people say that the radio has died.  That it is no longer popular, nor needed today (or at least that's what I've heard).  I don't know the exact answer to this question.  All I know is that when I am driving in a car, the only thing I listen to is the radio and there are many reasons why.  I love listening to the radio because it's a source for me to hear new music that has just come out.  Also, the only radio radio stations I listen to play today's newest music and most popular music, for example the American Top 40 countdown.

So has the radio really died? I think it all depends on a person's personal preference for how and when they listen to music. 

Audience Segmentation

Have you ever noticed the difference between the commercials played on ESPN opposed to the ones played on HGTV?  I have to admit that I do watch both of these channels.  I watch ESPN's SportsCenter religiously every morning and I do watch HGTV during the holidays with my Mom.  The main  

Breaking down the audience into different groups is the best way I can define audience segmentation.  In advertising, a brand can choose where to place their ad so that it will reach their maximum target audience.  ESPN's targeted audience is for male viewers (as much as I hate to admit it to all you girl sports fans out there, it's the truth) and HGTV's targeted audience is for female viewers.  The commercials you are most likely to see on ESPN are for beer, athletic equipment, action movies, and the newest sports cars available.  Now on HGTV, the commercials are aimed towards women (aka mothers) who shop for products such as ziplock bags, Clorox products, food to cook for their families, and often times I have seen Home Depot commercials and Lowe's commercials advertising for gardening and remodeling.  

Audience segmentation has also put people with similar interests in contact with one another.  For example: blogs, forums, Facebook, and Twitter have all allowed for people with similar interests to communicate and share ideas with one another.  It has allowed for people to come together and communicate on practically any interest or topic from anywhere in the world. 

It's amazing when a song says every word you're trying to say when you can't say it yourself

My stupid mouth
Has got me in trouble
I said too much again
To a date over dinner yesterday
And I could see
She was offended
She said "well anyway..."
Just dying for a subject change

Oh, another social casualty
Score one more for me
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one soon

We bit our lips
She looked out the window
Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper
I played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shaker
And I could see clearly, An indelible line was drawn
Between what was good, what JUST slipped out and what went wrong

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
Thanks for playing, try again.
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one

I'm never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
Than she desert me

Oh I'm never speaking up again
Starting now... Starting now

One more thing
Why is it my fault?
So maybe I try too hard
But it's all because of this desire
I just wanna be liked
I just wanna be funny
Looks like the jokes on me
So call me captain backfire

I'm never speaking up again
it only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
than she desert me

oh i'm never speaking up again
i'm never speaking up again
i'm never speaking up again
Starting now, starting now...

-John Mayer
My Stupid Mouth

The Convergence of the Newspaper

One of my all time favorite things about high school was getting up in the mornings.  You see, my mom and I had this daily routine.  We would both get up around six and begin our day.  Part of the reason we got up so early was because high school begins at a ridiculously early time.  The other reason was because we liked to get up early enough so that we could have enough time to eat breakfast together and read the newspaper together.  We would swap articles, discuss a topic being written about, or just sit there quietly reading.  I never knew how much I appreciated reading the newspaper every morning until I went away to college.  I don't have the luxury anymore of walking out my front door and bringing inside the freshly printed newspaper that was delivered to my door step.  Instead, I have to look up my local newspaper's articles online.  Without the convergence of newspapers expanding online, myself and others like me wouldn't have the opportunity to read our local newspapers at our own convenience.

Magazines

I came across and Ladies' Home Journal the other day.  Did you ever notice the type of articles a magazine like that has in it?  Talk about a wide variety of "Mom topics."  You can find anything from an article about a carrot and sweet potato recipe a woman has experimented with to how a woman can freshen up her make-up just in time for spring to arrive.  I believe the demographic for this magazine is completely aimed for mothers.  Any magazine that has an article with the title "Snow Safety: Even sledding has it's risks. Wear a helmet!" can only be something a mom would read. 

When I was flipping through some of the ads of this magazine, it continued to prove that this magazine was directed towards moms. I put the most reoccurring advertisements into three simple categories: food, medicine, and necessities.  In the food category, mom's are told what the right cereal is to buy for their kids (according to Ladies' Home Journal its Cornflakes).  In the medicine category, mom's are directed buy certain brands (LHJ's brand's include Mucinex).  In the necessities category, mom's are influenced to buy Faith Hill's new perfume.

Commercials and Advertising

When I was younger, I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons and always anticipating the newest toy commercial or candy that was coming out.  Back then, advertisers knew that my age group would be watching those cartoons on TV stations such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, or even ABC.  Now a days, my age group's TV watching has become a much broader range of interest.  Nonetheless, advertisers still know how to hook us in the most unique way.

Back in those days, I remember eagerly waiting for that Street Flyers commercial to come on TV.  For those of you who don't remember what Street Flyers were, they were the sneaker that had retractable wheels in the sole of the shoe.  Today, my attention is caught by the latest iPhone commercials, particularly the "Two is better than one" commercial advertising Apple's addition to Verizon selling the phone.  Advertising doesn't always reach me through television, but in magazines too.

In today's world, you can look up basically anything you choose to on the internet.  Everyone knows that newspapers and magazines are not the main means of news today.  However, what girl doesn't like to pick up a gossip magazine every once in a while? Or what about a fashion magazine? Or even (if you're a sporty kind of girl like myself) a sports magazine?  Magazines have loads of advertising in them.  Just the other day I bought a Cosmo Magazine (which by the way...for future reference....do NOT open all of the cologne/perfume tabs at once...trust me).  With half of the pages being advertisements, no wonder the magazine is so large!  Makeup, clothes, shoes, colognes and perfumes seem to take up half of the magazine. I actually was curious as to why Cosmo would put multiple cologne advertisements into their magazine.  My roommate brought up a good point to me saying that although the magazine's main demographic is guided towards females, that doesn't necessarily mean that a male demographic isn't reading them. 

I was catching up on TV shows I missed the other day on Hulu.com.  I realized that's another way advertisers reach me.  They have about five advertisements in between the shows you watch on their website. Sometimes it can get annoying, especially if the show you're watching is really suspenseful, but it is better than watching on TV with 15 commercials opposed to five.

Advertising will always be around bugging us about the high rates you could be saving on your car insurance, showing us how easy it is to buy stock and access it, and what new sneakers will improve your athletic ability. 

Book or eBook? Mom Knows Best

When asked if she was interested in a any of the new eBooks, my Mother simply replied, "No, thanks. I'd rather hold the actual book in my hand." It seems like many of our family and friends keep asking my Mom, the seventh grade English teacher and total book worm , how she feels about these new eBooks that keep popping up everywhere.  My mom claims that she loves the feel of holding a book, and the idea of sitting on a beach reading a good novel or even reading in front of the fireplace on a cold winter's night. I couldn't agree more with my Mom. But don't tell her I said that because I will deny it. Just like Mom, I do love holding a book in my hands and reading it. My eyes are killing me reading the small font on Facebook everyday. It's nice to sit down every once in a while and pick up a good book.

So what is the world's new obsession with these eBooks? Are we too lazy to go around carrying multiple books if we like to read? Or are we yet again wasting away our money on the newest technological devices on the market? I happen to be very curious about this... and I do not have the slightest clue as to why I am curious about this.

My Mom always has her nose in a book. Sometimes even more than one. When I was first learning how to read chapter books, I remember sitting in my room, picking up a Nancy Drew book and trying to read it all by myself. For some reason I felt older and more grown up trying to get through books like that. I wasn't the fastest reader.... nor am I to this day... but reading those chapter books made me feel just like Mom. I felt smarter trying to sound out large words and also felt more confident with my abilities to read different things.

There's just something about reading a book that makes you feel more knowledgeable and intelligent. My personal favorite is reading a hardback covered book. Sometimes, (and I will deny it if this leaves this blog), I like to take the book cover off so the book looks bare and important on the outside....now I know that sounds incredibly childish, but it gives my self esteem a boost when I'm still trying to finish Harry Potter!

I feel like these eBooks are just another device for people to buy and waste their money on. I mean in certain occasions, yes, I do understand the concept. For example,You're a business man or woman. You travel often. Planes, trains, and any other transportation methods you can think of. You can't always purchase books on the go, but your new eBook doohickey can. But how many people, other than business men and women, travel that much that they would need to purchase one of these? The answer? Not that many people!

So the next time you're gallivanting through Barnes & Noble or Borders, (or any other book stores you can come up with,) take a look at that one small eBook display table... and then take a look at the dozens and dozens of shelves that hold those thousands and thousands of books. It's so much nicer to read a book then a screen.